The Patrick Brown story is perhaps the wildest reversal of fortune the #MeToo phenomenon has seen to date. And it’s not over yet.

In the early hours of Jan. 25, Brown resigned as leader of the Ontario PC Party after his caucus told him he had to go following a CTV News report of two women coming forward to accuse him of sexual misconduct.

Brown was adamant he’d done no wrong, that the stories were bogus. But in the days following, the man polls had tipped off to become the next premier of Ontario went away, keeping a low profile. All of a sudden the premier-in-waiting was persona non grata.

Past became prologue as the Ontario PC Party delved into the current leadership race. The Brown story was behind them and they were on to greener pastures, ready to finally beat the Liberal machine that had chalked up an increasing number of scandals since they took power in 2003.

Then came the tweet that served as Brown’s warning shot. On Feb. 6, Brown posted: “#MeToo can be a tool to lift society and I applaud that effort. False allegations however undermine that good work. The truth will come out. Thank you to all.”

I am immensely grateful for all the support expressed to my family and myself. #metoo can be a tool to lift society and I applaud that effort.

This kick-started chatter among Brown supporters and regular Ontarians who were perplexed that one news story, citing anonymous claims, was enough to slay a public figure. There was clearly an appetite for it. Even before the tweet, the Sun had heard from people close to Brown that he was remaining adamant that the claims were bogus. It wasn’t yet clear just to what degree he’d come out swinging.

Now Brown is waging the fight of his life, giving it his all to reclaim his reputation. On Wednesday, the CTV News report that caused Brown’s downfall was exposed as inaccurate.

“A key accusation which cost Patrick Brown the leadership of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party – that he plied an underage high school girl with booze – is not true, CTV News now acknowledges,” my colleague Antonella Artuso wrote in her report. If it got that fact wrong, what else did it screw up?

Not long after that story went live, Brown took to Facebook to call out CTV News and call on his two accusers to report their claims to Barrie police, if they’re so certain of them.

Brown isn’t taking it lying down anymore. He’s gone from passive defender to a man on the offence. He’s now calling the shots and directing where this saga goes next.

This will be a welcome shift for #MeToo critics of both genders who feel that what was once an important cultural phenomenon too quickly became a reckless witch hunt where journalists – the new sheriffs in town – are too quick to pull the trigger on whatever damning gossip they can get their hands on.

So what does this mean? For the Ontario PC leadership race, that’s unclear. While roaming the halls of the Manning Networking Conference last weekend, I was told by an influential grassroots organizer that she hadn’t decided whom she was supporting yet partially because she was waiting to see if Patrick Brown himself entered the race. Similar rumours surfaced throughout the weekend.

If this happened, it would be the ultimate wildcard. It’s hard to say how it would alter the vote breakdown. After all, Brown still has a number of supporters among the nominated candidates and grassroots. That said, Brown seems too focused on clearing his name to also run for leader.

The next question becomes whether or not Brown is allowed by the new leader to run under the Ontario PC banner. When I asked Christine Elliott if she’d sign Brown’s nomination papers, she said she would if he successfully cleared his name. That’s what he’s now working to do. Perhaps we’ll see Brown become a cabinet minister in the next Ontario government instead of premier.

This is also a moment of serious reflection for all of the journalists who giddily got on board the #MeToo train without proper due diligence. The gossip on Parliament Hill is that eyebrows are now being raised about the professional standards employed by the two CTV News reporters who authored the story that led to Brown’s downfall.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.